Apparatus for cooling air



W. s. WILKINSON. Apparatus for Cooling Air.

fiatnted Mar. 2,1880. :6

Wifiz a m a)" J f m NJ PEYERS. gnoml ITHGGRAPH ER; WASHINGTON. u. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER S. WILKINSON, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

APPARATUS FOR COOLING AIR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 225,192, dated March 2,1880. Application filed May 12, 1879.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WALTER S. WILKINSON, ofBaltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new anduseful lmpro vements in Apparatus for Tempering Air; and I do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, whichform apart of this specification.

This invention relates to an improved method of ventilation and ofteinperin g the air which is supplied to apartments and buildings.-

The object of the invention is to produce a desired temperature in acurrent or volume of air by means of another current or volume r LIIcaused to pass around the duct or ducts through which is conveyed theair which is to be tempered.

In carrying out my invention I preferably divide a column of air intotwo or more parts or currents, one of which is caused to remove the heatfrom the other, and to then escape thro z" gh suitable exh austin gdevices, the cooled current being employed for ventilation, and beingconveyed to any desired points. The air which is to be used forventilation is passed through an inner pipe, around which is placed anouter pipe or casing of suitable dimensions, and adapted to form achamber or open space between the inner pipe and the casing or outerpipe. The cooling-current passes through this chamber or open spacearound the ventilatingduct and withdraws the heat from the air therein.

To cause the cooling of the air, water is 'supplied to the outside ofthe ventilating pipe or duct, which is thus kept constantly moist. Theevaporation of this moisture of the outer current of air withdraws theheat from the duct and from the current of air passing through it, aswill be readily understood.

The wind or the natural movements of the air may be utilized to causethe passage of air through the tempering devices; or saidpassage may becaused by any of the suction, blast, or exhaust mechanisms that areemployed for such purposes; and said mechanism may be located at anydesired point, ac-

cording as convenience or occasion may dietate. Thus, a force or blastfan or a cowl may be arranged to operate upon the air as it is beingfirst supplied to the apparatus; or the ventilating current and thecooling current may, after performing their respective operations, beconducted to a common exhaust-shaft provided with an exhaust-fan, cowl,or with a steam jet or the two currents may be respectively suppliedwith a separate exhausting device. I

In the drawings I have shown some of the methods of carrying out myinvention.

Figure l is a vertical section of a cooling and ventilating mechanismembodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken on line anyof Fig. 1. Fig. 3 illustrates my invention when a single cooling-pipe isemployed.

In the drawings, A is a casing adapted to form a tight chamber and tocontain devices for supporting one or more pipes, B B. Air is introducedinto this'chamber through a supply-pipe, G, communicating with it at anydesired point, though I prefer to connect it at the bottom of thecasing, in order that the air may traverse as much as possible of thebody of the inclosed chamber.

D represents a partition or wall within the casing A.

The pipes B B are supported at one end in this partition, and it shouldbe air-tight, except at the ends of the pipes. The pipes are supportedat the opposite ends by means of bars or sills G O, which are situatedat suitable distances from the end of the casing. Instead of the bars orstrips a wall or partition may be used to support the pipes, in whichcase perforations or apertures c cshould be formed therein to permit thepassage of air.

It will be seen from Fig.1 of the drawings that there are thus withintheicasing A three apartments or chambers, formed as shown at A A A andit will be further seen that there is no communication for the airbetween the compartments A A except through the pipes B E represents aduct for conducting to the building or apartments to be ventilated theair which passes through said pipes B B and the chamber A.

F is an exhaust-pipe for withdrawing the air from the centralcompartment, A It projects across the chamber A and opens into the innercompartment.

The pipes B B are preferably constructed substantially of the shapeshown in Fig. 2- that is to say, as nearly flat as is practicable inorder to have a large cooling-surfacein proportion to the volume of airthat passes through them.

G is a water-pipe connected with any convenientreservoir, and adapted todistribute water over the surfaces of the pipes B B, which can beconveniently accomplished by means of branch pipes g g, situated,respectively, above the air-pipes B B. These ventilating-pipes may beconstructed of any suitable material; but in order to obtain the bestresults they should either be porous upon their outer surfaces or besurrounded by some porous material, in order to better distribute themoisture. Thus they may be formed of iron or other metal, and besurrounded with jackets of cloth, felt, or other absorbing material, orthey may be constructed of clay or terra cotta, and when these materialsare used the inner surface of the pipe should be vitrified in order tobe smooth; but the outer surface should be left porous to facilitate themoistening of thepipe.

A drip-receptacle may be placed in the bottom of the casing to catch thewater that passes below the pipes, and the waste-water may be withdrawnby any suitable devices.

From the drawings and the foregoing description it will be seen that ifthe volume of air be caused to pass into the casing A through the pipe 0it (said volume of air) will be divided into two currents or sets ofcurrents, of which one will traverse the pipes B B, the chamber A, andthe duct E, and that the other will pass beyond the bars or sills G intothe space or compartment A around the pipes B B, and thence into theexhaust-pipe F; and it will be further seen that if the pipes B B aremoistened upon the outside by the water fed from the pipes G g the warmair that passes through the compartment A around the air-pipes will coolthe air within said pipes by taking up the moisture on their surfaces.

When a construction of the nature shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is used, it maybe located'in any part of the building to be ventilated, though I havefound it desirable, for some reasons, to place it at the top or upperpart of the structure rather than in the lower, as the air met withatthe tops of buildings, especially in cities, is more advantageous forventilating than that found nearer the ground.

It may be sometimes desirable to provide a single apartment with aventilating apparatus of the kind described, in which case the apparatusmay be placed directly in said apartment, and the pipe E may bedispensed With,

the cool air being delivered through a suitable.

aperture in the wall of the casing. This aperture should be providedwith a door or dampers, as should also the duct through which thecooling-air is exhausted, in order to regulate the volumes of airrelative to each other. In Fig. 3 I have shown a ventilating deviceembodying my invention in which but one air-pipe is used. In this case avolume of air is forced down into the outer casing or tube,

A, and into the inner pipe, B. A supply of water for evaporation isefi'ected by the feedpipe G and the branch pipes g g, situated atconvenient distances around the ventilatingpipe.

I represents a cowl of any desired construction, whereby the air isforced downward into the pipes. The pipe B is turned, as at B, to carrythe cooled air to any desired point. The air which passes through theouter pipe escapes at the bottom, which is left open for that purpose.

It will be seen that the inner duct, B, operates as a partition withinthe outer duct or chamber, A, to divide the air into two currents, andalso that the ducts B and E serve as a pas 9o sage for the innercurrent.

Constructions similar to that shown in Fig.

3 are especially adapted to be used upon the outside of buildings, tothe walls of which they can be conveniently attached.

I do not wish, however, to limit myself to the exact details ofconstruction which I have shown and set forth,-inasmuch as the essentialfeatures of my invention may be carried out bydevices of a modifiedcharacter, which will readily suggest themselves to those familiar tothe art to which they appertain.

' This system of ventilating and tempering air may be readily applied tocars, boats, ships, and other moving apartments. When applied to suchstructures the passage of the air through the cooling apparatus would becaused by the motion of the structure, as will be readily understood.

By constructing the apparatus so that it I 10 shall divide a singlecurrent of air into the two or more currents necessary to carry out myinvention I am enabled to produce all of the required movements by asingle forcing apparatus. 1 1 5 What I claim is- 1. The combination ofan outer air-conduit,

a conduit partly or entirely within said outer conduit, and air-forcingmechanism which supplies both conduits with air from a single cur- 12orent, substantially as set forth.

2. A moistened duct through which air passes into a room or structurefrom the outside of said room or structure, in combination with anair-forcing mechanism which passes 12 5 a current of air around saidmoistened duct-.

8. In combination with an inner duct, an outer duct or chamber, intowhich a current of air is forced, and a partition which divides the airinto two independent currents.

4. In an air-cooling apparatus, a chamber having an outlet, E, for aventilating-current,

another outlet, F, for an evaporating and cooli In testimony that Iclaim the foregoing as 10 ing current, and an inlet at which both ourmyown I affix my signature iii-presence of rents are received together,substantially as two witnesses.

set forth. I 5 5. A duct or chamber, A, divided into two WALTER S.WILKINSON. compartments, A A, of which each has a separate air-exit, bya partition, D, which is pro- Witnesses:

vided with an air-passage, substantially as set J AS. HENDERSON, forth.I

JAMES C. G. UNDUCH.

